COMMUNITY CHRONICLE: Clifton parish honors Rev. Zemlachenko (09/10/00)

COMMUNITY CHRONICLE

Clifton parish honors Rev. Zemlachenko

by Dr. Sylvia Bilobron

CLIFTON, N.J. - On July 23, a beautiful, sunny day, as if a gift from God, St. Mary Protectress Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Clifton, N.J., together with distinguished guests, celebrated 20 years of dedicated service to the Clifton community by the Very Rev. Protopresbyter Michael Zemlachenko. A divine liturgy was followed by a celebratory banquet at the Binghamton Floating Restaurant in Edgewater, N.J., overlooking the Manhattan skyline.

The Rev. Zemlachenko's career began on April 5, 1953, when then Archbishop Mstyslav ordained him deacon at St. Mary Protectress Church in Rochester, N.Y. Subsequently, in February 1955, he took his vows as priest before Archbishop Mstyslav at St. Volodymyr Cathedral in New York. He was assigned to his first parish in Uniondale, Long Island, and later to churches in Minersville, Pa., and Bayonne, N.J.

The Rev. Zemlachenko's first major recognition of service to the faithful occurred in 1963, when he was elevated to protopriest, again by Archbishop Mstyslav. Furthermore, when the fifth Ecumenical Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of America took place in October 1964, the Very Rev. Zemlachenko was elected a member of its Consistory and named treasurer. It was during this time that he also served as assistant clergy for St. Andrew Memorial Church in South Bound Brook, N.J., until July 1976.

The Rev. Zemlachenko was again recognized for his dedication and commitment to Orthodoxy in 1966 by the late Metropolitan John and presented with a specially adorned cross; in 1976, due to a shortage of priests, he was relieved of his duties at the Consistory and assigned to a parish in Northampton, Pa., where he served for four years.

Finally, on July 13, 1980, the Rev. Zemlachenko celebrated his first service at St. Mary Protectress in Clifton. In 1995, on his 40th anniversary of priesthood, he was elevated to protopresbyter.

Among the several adversities faced by the parish in past years, declining membership and low attendance, the Rev. Zemlachenko and his wife, Tatiana, have served as leaders and motivators to ocercome these difficulties. Recognizing St. Mary Protectress Church as a small bastion of traditional Ukrainian Orthodox rites, culture and customs, the Rev. Zemlachenko helped spearhead a "mini-revival" of parish life and membership. His appeal to fourth-wave immigrants and recall of some "lost" members has guaranteed the preservation of a parish that many would say, due to its unadulteration, is one "which time has forgotten."

For this exceptional service and his true love of the Holy Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the Clifton community celebrated the Rev. Zemlachenko's important milestone with great joy.

| Home Page |